Agartala, Aug 9: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to resume discussions with the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) to explore a joint contest in the upcoming elections to the Village Committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). The move follows directions from the BJP's central leadership, which has asked the state unit to work towards forging an electoral understanding ahead of the crucial local body polls.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha left for New Delhi on Sunday and is expected to meet TMP leaders, including party supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, in the presence of senior BJP leaders. The meeting is likely to take place on Sunday night or Monday."

We will hold discussions with the TMP leaders in the presence of our central leadership regarding the upcoming Village Committee elections. At this stage, I cannot disclose the details of the discussions or any proposed electoral arrangement," Saha told reporters before leaving for Delhi.

Elections to 587 Village Committees under the TTAADC, which function as the rural local bodies in the autonomous district council areas, are scheduled to be held later this year alongside polls to more than 20 urban local bodies. The alliance discussions assume significance in light of the BJP's poor performance in the 2021 TTAADC elections.

The TMP had swept the polls, winning 24 of the 28 elected seats, while the BJP managed just four seats after the BJP, TMP and IPFT contested separately following a failure to reach a seat-sharing agreement. Since then, the TMP has governed the 30-member TTAADC, which administers nearly 70 per cent of Tripura's geographical area and is regarded as the state's second most important constitutional institution after the Legislative Assembly.

The renewed outreach also follows a series of strategy meetings held in New Delhi on August 6, where the BJP's central leadership reviewed the party's preparedness for the upcoming Village Committee and urban local body elections. According to party leaders, the central leadership directed the Tripura unit to further strengthen the organisation while also assessing the prospects of an electoral alliance with its tribal partners.

L. Santhosh, Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra, Tripura observer Rajdeep Roy, Chief Minister Manik Saha, state BJP president Abhishek Debroy, senior ministers, legislators and other members of the party's core committee.